Empire of Nothing

It was midnight when Nova snapped.

The walls of the mansion were too polished. Too cold. Too proud.Just like the people in it.

She didn't belong here. She never had. And after that fight with Ryder, after the silence that followed — not even a knock, a look, a flicker of we see you — she finally understood:

They weren't ignoring her.

They just didn't care.

She moved fast.

No hesitation. No tears.She packed her bag with shaking hands and rage-filled silence.

Phone. Charger. Hoodie. Sketchbook.Done.

She didn't even care where she'd go.

Anywhere was better than this glass prison.

Her shoes hit the stairs like thunder. She didn't bother sneaking this time.

Let them hear her.

Let them watch her walk out.

Let them try to stop her.

But when she passed the living room—nothing.

No lights.

No one sitting up waiting.

No one calling her name.

When she pushed the front door open—still nothing.

Not even Darian's usual stare from the balcony.Not Ryder's voice spitting venom.Not Max with his stupid jokes.Not Ethan with his cold calm.

Just silence.

And that made her pause.

Just for a second.

Because somewhere deep down, some stupid, human part of her wanted someone to stop her.

To care.

To say: Wait. Don't go.

But no one did.

The door clicked shut behind her.

And she ran.

Out into the night. Into the city. Into anything that wasn't them.

Her lungs burned by the time she reached Zane's street.

She didn't cry.

She didn't look back.

She just knocked on his door like her life depended on it.

Zane opened it in a hoodie and socks, hair a mess, half-asleep. "Nova?"

She stared at him.

And that's when the tears came.

Only one sentence made it out:

"I didn't know where else to go."

Zane didn't ask questions.

He just pulled her into the house and shut the world out behind her.